I’ve had planned to get this post out during the first week of October but then some business travel got in the way. During travelling I still prefer to read rather than write. I should maybe try and do something about that and get stuck into writing whilst travelling!

This is Dan Zarrella’s fourth book and by far the best one. I was glued to it and couldn’t put it down. The social media scientist is all about analysing data, millions of data, and his findings are very clear. Even though the Hubspot employee’s main focus is on US data, I believe that his results would have a very similar outcome in the UK and the rest of Europe.

The book is full of actionable insights, being split into the following areas

Content: including E-books and Webinars

Channels: SEO, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Blogging

Middle of the funnel: E-mail marketing, Lead generation

Analytics

It’s a small book and should be on every online marketeer’s desk, we sure have a copy of it at Serps. Definitely a great reference for anyone who needs a bit more guidance about when, what and why for their digital marketing strategy.

I have to say, I was fascinated with the first part of the book, which focused a lot about cultural differences outlined by the Dutch psychology professor Hofstede. If you are a international digital marketer then alone for this part the book is worth getting. Nahai outlines various cultural quirks for various countries and how best to target them online. Each section has a case study and a tips or round up section called “Make this work for you”. If in a rush, you could just read those. Chapter 2 focuses on usability, images, colours, monetisation and social media. In chapter 3 she touches on how to build trust and credibility online, increase sales and customer service.

I originally got this book, as I had to do some public speaking, which apparently isn’t only for me rather unappealing. According to an American study the top two fears of people are walking into a room full of strangers and speaking in public. Death was only mentioned as the third fear. Interesting, isn’t it. As a business owner you will at some point have to at least attend a networking event, if not even speak in public and for either this book is a fantastic guide to overcome any anxiety. The Networking and presentation parts of the book are divided into tools and techniques sections. They include everything from planning your networking strategy, how to make an impression to keeping in touch. The public speaking tips are also easy to follow and focus on why you are invited to speak, getting out your key message, close, open, as well as body language.

I definitely can’t recommend this book enough. Even though the contents are all common sense, it is really useful to have very clear steps and a focused approach for networking and the preparation for public speaking. This book is a fantastic reference guide; you can dip in and out of to clarify certain areas.